1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to certain new and useful improvements in water sprinkler heads and, more particularly, to an improved sprinkler head which allows for turning water flow off and on directly at the sprinkler head to enable removal of the spray distributor, or disc, or so-called xe2x80x9cinsertxe2x80x9d and, in some cases, the filtering screen underlying the insert.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
Lawn and garden sprinkler systems are common in many parts of the United States and in many other countries where the climate is hot and grass or other vegetation would readily perish if not watered either physically by one or more individuals or through the aid of an irrigation sprinkler system. Sprinkler systems are also more frequently used in periods in which the climate is particularly hot during certain periods of the year.
All irrigation sprinkler systems are connected to a water source, such as a municipal water supply, and contain relatively shallow underground pipes which extend under the ground surface and contain sprinkler heads projecting upwardly from these underground pipes in order to apply water to selected areas of a lawn or garden to be irrigated. Typically, in an average yard or lawn area, a sprinkler head would be designed to apply water to an area of, e.g. approximately four to fifteen feet in diameter, or more, depending upon the water pressure, the type of sprinkler head which is employed and the area which needs to be watered. As a rough average, approximately twelve to twenty-five sprinkler heads are used to irrigate an average yard or lawn, depending upon such factors as valve size, type of head employed, water pressure in the area, and the like.
The water sprinkler system normally employed uses a plurality of underground pipes, as aforesaid, and which are connected to a source of water, as aforesaid, and which is controlled by a master control valve at the head of the sprinkler system. However, if a master control valve is not actually used, the water meter effectively operates as that control valve.
The water which passes through the underground pipes and exits from the sprinkler heads is usually controlled by a time clock or controller and which is frequently located at a point remote from the actual irrigated area. Moreover, each of the sprinkler valves would be governed by that master processor or master clock. The master clock and associated processor cause the opening of a valve, frequently referred to as a xe2x80x9cRCVxe2x80x9d (remote central valve) and which is also frequently located at a remote site and which allows for water flow through the various sprinkler heads. The RCV and the time clock are connected electrically. The same master clock and processor will cause a cessation of the water flow through the remote control valve after a predetermined period of time which is programmed into the clock or processor.
Water lines which carry water delivered from the municipal water source will frequently carry small particles of debris, such as dirt particles, small rocks and pebbles and the like. This debris interferes with a proper water flow and the sprinkler heads must frequently be cleaned in order to enable a proper spray, that is, in a proper distribution of water, and water application to the ground surface. Generally, all of the major sprinkler head manufacturers produce sprinkler heads which contain some type of screen mechanism in order to filter out this debris carried in the water line. However, inasmuch as the screen collects this debris contained in the delivered water, the screen necessarily requires cleaning.
In order to clean the screen of a head or the sprinkler insert, or in order to replace the head, it would be more convenient to open or close a valve in the field where the problem exists rather than walk to the location of the clock or electronic controller or to the remote control valve. At present, there is nothing which provides for opening and closing a valve at the sprinkler head. This is particularly the case where the project having the irrigated land is of a large size and where the location of the valve or the controller may be at a somewhat remote point from the problem sprinkler head.
There are two types of heads generally in commercial use and which are employed within most irrigation systems. Those heads which appear in lawns are almost always pop-up type sprinkler heads so that they do not interfere with mowing of the lawn or other cleaning of the lawn. The second type of head which is used and, particularly, in shrubbery and so-called ground cover areas, is the stationary type known as a xe2x80x9cshrub headxe2x80x9d and which usually extends about an inch to as much as six inches, usually three or four inches, above a ground surface. In each of these cases, at the top of the sprinkler head is a part called an xe2x80x9cinsertxe2x80x9d and which is generally screwed into the top of the sprinkler head. The insert is the part which contains the orifice from which the water exits. Inserts are constructed in various configurations, usually full inserts, or one-half or one-fourth inserts, bubblers, etc. The exact form of the insert is not critical in connection with the present invention, although access to that insert is important in the invention.
When it is necessary to clean or repair the sprinkler head, or any part thereof, e.g., the screen below the head, it is almost always necessary to cut-off water flow to that head. Otherwise, when the insert is removed from the head, water will exit usually in a substantial volume, since a removed insert presents the point of least resistance to water flow under pressure throughout the entire irrigation system.
In order to remove the water emitting nozzle or insert from the sprinkler head, it is necessary to cut-off the flow of water to the sprinkler head. Upon determining that the area near a sprinkler head is not receiving sufficient water, the gardener or maintenance personnel must turn on the RCV either at the time clock or manually open the RCV and observe the water that is actually being emitted from the various sprinkler heads in a certain locale. At that point, the gardener or maintenance personnel must then walk to the master valve or to the RCV or to the controller, turn off the water valve, controller or RCV, and walk back to the sprinkler head for removing the sprinkler emitting disc or so-called xe2x80x9cinsertxe2x80x9d from the sprinkler head and allow for cleaning thereof.
Prior to insertion of the water emitting disc back into the sprinkler head, it is necessary to flush water from the sprinkler head itself. Consequently, and in order to perform the flushing operation, the gardener or irrigation personnel must then walk back to the master valve or controller, turn on the master valve or controller, and allow for flushing for several seconds or minutes. Naturally, the same personnel must be present at the flushing of the water line during the flushing operation. Thereafter, the same maintenance personnel then walks back to the master valve or controller, turns off the master valve and again returns to the particular sprinkler head which is being cleaned in order to insert the spray emitting disc. Following this, the same maintenance personnel must walk back to the master valve or controller in order to turn on the master valve, or RCV or controller and return to the head to be sure that it is now functioning properly and make any necessary adjustments to the water flow and/or direction of the spray.
It can be observed that the amount of the personnel hours lost in the pure physical act of walking back and forth can be quite substantial and necessarily adds to the cost of an irrigation bill from the maintenance personnel or the like. Moreover, it consumes a substantial amount of effort and, in some cases, frequently results in malfunctioning sprinkler heads not being cleaned and repaired as frequently as they would otherwise be repaired or cleaned.
In addition to the foregoing, pop-up sprinkler heads are much more complicated in their construction than are the so-called xe2x80x9cshrub headsxe2x80x9d. The pop-up heads entail moving parts and which require water pressure to force the heads upwardly over the ground surface in order to properly emit the water spray to the ground surface. Other than the very top of the head, pop-up heads are completely buried in the ground making them more difficult to service. However, for the proper operation of the pop-up heads, the dirt and debris must again be frequently cleaned from the spray emitting orifice.
Almost all of the commercially available sprinkler heads have a flow control feature. This flow control feature resides in the form of a small screw located at the very top of the insert which can regulate the flow of water outwardly of the head. By tightening the screw down to the point where there is no water flow, cessation of the water flow has effectively been achieved. However, in each of these cases, one could not remove the head or the insert of the head since there is no upstream point in proximity to the sprinkler head to cut-off water flow for a temporary period.
There are numerous sprinkler heads reported in the literature and available in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,360,203 to Fox, U.S. Pat. No. 1,639,162 to Brooks, U.S. Pat. No. 1,681,719 to Baldwin, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,263,930 to Friedmann, et al, disclose various types of pop-up heads. Each of these sprinklers may contain a feature to control the spray and, to some extent, operate as a type of flow control. However, none of these sprinkler head types include any means to stop water flow to the insert at a point upstream from the sprinkler head. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 1,078,543 to Hadden discloses a sprinkler head having a type of head position adjustment using a set screw. However, and here again, there is no means to cut-off water flow to the head at a point adjacent to and upstream of the sprinkler head.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,508 to Roberts includes an internal adjustment screw, although again it would not permit opening and closing of the sprinkler head at a point upstream of the sprinkler head in order to permit removal of the insert without turning off water at a remote source. U.S. Pat. No. 3,763,512 to Valihora discloses a beacon recovery system.
It would therefore be desirable to provide some means to shut off water flow and again turn on water flow to a sprinkler head through manual actuation at the sprinkler head in a position such that an insert at the sprinkler head may be removed and/or the sprinkler head otherwise replaced without the need of walking to a remote site or operating in conjunction with personnel at a remote site in order to clean or repair that sprinkler head or its underlying screen. In other words, it would be desirable to be able to control the flow of water to a sprinkler head from a point upstream of the sprinkler head, but in very close proximity to the sprinkler head.
It is, therefore, one of the primary objects of the present invention to provide a sprinkler head which allows for cessation and re-initiation of water flow to a sprinkler head from a point upstream of the insert of the sprinkler head, but yet in close proximity to the insert of the sprinkler head.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a unique water sprinkler head of the type stated which allows for cleaning, replacement and/or repair of the sprinkler head without walking to a remote site from the sprinkler head or operating in conjunction with other personnel at a remote site to control water flow to that sprinkler head.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a unique water sprinkler head of the type stated which includes an internal valve installed in the head which would allow personnel to cut-off water flow to and re-allow water flow to that sprinkler head by simple manual actuation at the sprinkler head.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a unique water sprinkler head of the type stated which allows for cleaning and/or repair of a sprinkler head both efficiently and conveniently without the need for extra or other types of tools and which resides in the feature of a simple valve construction integrated into the sprinkler head.
It is still another salient object of the present invention to provide a unique water sprinkler head of the type stated which can be constructed at a relatively low cost and which is highly efficient in operation.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method of turning water flow off and re-initiating water flow to a sprinkler head from a point in close proximity to a sprinkler head in order to allow for repair, replacement and/or maintenance of the sprinkler head without interrupting water flow to an entire sprinkler system.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method of using a retrofit device in existing sprinkler systems to employ a modified sprinkler fitting upstream of the sprinkler head and which would incorporate an internal valve which allows personnel to cut off water flow and to re-establish water flow to the sprinkler by simple manual actuation. Moreover, this actuation occurs directly at the sprinkler head assembly at a point just below the sprinkler head itself.
With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in the novel features of form, construction, arrangement and combination of parts and components presently described and pointed out in the claims.
The present invention resides in a novel sprinkler head which allows for shutting off water to the sprinkler head without shutting down the water at an origination point in an entire sprinkler system or segment of that sprinkler system. The sprinkler head is constructed so that the water flow may be cut-off and reinitiated upstream of the water exit location in that sprinkler head and which allows for repair, replacement and/or cleaning of the sprinkler head.
Two versions of the novel sprinkler head of the invention are available and one version resides in a shrub type sprinkler head and the second in a pop-up type sprinkler head. Moreover, the invention allows for incorporation of this water flow control principle in both new sprinkler head construction and in a retrofit device which may be added upstream to existing sprinkler heads.
In one of the important facets of the present invention, the control valve which is located directly at the sprinkler head is preferably integral with the sprinkler head. In broader terms, it is a component part of the sprinkler head assembly. In addition, this component may adopt the form of an adaptive fitting which could be located between the actual head and the riser tube. In this case, the adaptive fitting would become the retrofit device for controlling the water flow directly to the sprinkler head.
In substance, there are essentially four ways in which a control valve can become integral with the sprinkler head assembly and that is by installation in a riser tube or otherwise installation in the body of the sprinkler head. Thirdly, the control valve could be located in an adaptive fitting which is disposed between the sprinkler head and the riser tube. Finally, the control valve could be located in the pop-up shaft forming part of the pop-up sprinkler head.
In the case of the shrub head, that is one which extends above a ground surface by a limited distance and is fixed in that position, a small gate valve could be installed into the riser pipe and in a position upstream of that sprinkler head. In this way, upon shutting off the gate valve below the sprinkler head, cleaning of the screen or the insert part of the head can be accomplished readily and simply. This gate valve could be closed to remove the insert and then opened a small amount so as to flush out water from the riser and the head and then again closed off right at the sprinkler head so that the insert could be reinstalled without water saturation of maintenance personnel.
The problem with the above-identified approach is that it would be more costly to both install and to provide for a gate valve installation with the sprinkler head. Moreover, they would be unsightly and even invite vandalism. In addition, these gate valves would often be in an underground location and unserviceable as a result of corrosion. Consequently, use of a gate valve would not be desirable.
The present invention thereby provides a device which can be located as a part of the riser piping immediately upstream of a shrub sprinkler head or a part of adaptive fitting as part of a retrofit application, or part of the shrub sprinkler head itself, or located in the pop-up shaft of a pop-up sprinkler. For the stationary sprinkler heads, that is, the so-called shrub sprinkler heads, the device can be configured both for new sprinkler heads and in a retrofit arrangement, as aforesaid. In the case of a new riser sprinkler head construction, a small off/on control valve can be installed in a position within the sprinkler head upstream to the actual insert of the sprinkler head. This small valve arrangement would cut-off the water flow prior to the insert so that cleaning and flushing may be accomplished easily and with little mechanical involvement and, certainly, without the need for travel back and forth to the water source.
In a second embodiment of the invention in which the small valve construction may be employed as a retrofit arrangement in a stationary sprinkler head, an adaptive fitting with a small stub pipe or a modified connector coupling having an internal bore coaxial with that of the riser pipe would be installed at the riser pipe, but yet in a position upstream of the sprinkler head. This again would allow for off/on control of water flow to the sprinkler head at the head or area needing service.
In the case of a pop-up sprinkler head, the same off/on valve arrangement would be incorporated into the pop-up shaft. In each case, an adapter arrangement would be used in the sprinkler head. Inasmuch as most pop-up shafts have a relatively thin wall construction, it will be necessary to increase the wall thickness at a point below the screen in order to accommodate an off/on control valve.
In the case of the present invention, the sprinkler head, including all of the components, such as the body, the screen and the insert, are referred to as a sprinkler head assembly. In the case of the pop-up sprinkler head, the pop-up shaft is part of this assembly. In many cases, the riser tube is also deemed to be part of the sprinkler head assembly. In all cases, and in this respect, the off/on control valve, which is integral with the sprinkler head assembly, would be incorporated in the pop-up shaft, the riser tube or the body of the sprinkler head or otherwise even a coupling fitted between the riser tube and the sprinkler head.
This invention possesses many other advantages and has other purposes which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of the forms in which it may be embodied. These forms are shown in the drawings forming a part of and accompanying the present specification. They will now be described in detail for purposes of illustrating the general principles of the invention. However, it is to be understood that the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings are not to be taken in a limiting sense.